176 



STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



The other experiment referred to, in addition to indicating the proper 

 amount of seed per acre, was designed to throw light on the questions: 



1. Is the half of a large potato better than a small potato, the weight of 

 the half being equal to that of the whole tuber? 



2. Can tubers just below the merchantable size be profitably used for 

 seed purposes? 



The results are given below, and although there is a slight variation 

 noticeable, we think a careful comparison of the performance of the three 

 varieties under the different conditions can be profitably made. 



Size of Seed. 



Wholes weighing 8 oz. 



Halves each weighing 4 oz. 



Wholes weighing 4 oz 



Halves each weighing 2 oz 



Wholes weighing 2 oz 



Halves each weighing 1 oz 



Wholes weighing 1 oz. 



Halves weighing V2 oz. 



CD 

 o 



Loss, 36.7 

 22.5 

 21.9 

 68.9 



66.39 

 84.9 

 62.2 

 72.7 



So far as, the amount of seed is concerned, the figures substantiate those 

 of the last season and the experiment reported above, the largest market 

 yields being obtained with the use of from 13 to 27 bushels of seed per 

 acre, with the largest net yield when 13.7 bushels were used. 



It also appears that halves are better than whole tubers of the same 

 weight, and a natural conclusion from this is that a whole small potato is 

 not as good as the half of a potato twice as large. As a matter of economy, 

 it is a question whether it is best to feed these potatoes of about the size 

 of a hen's egg to stock, and plant only large merchantable tubers, or to 

 plant the small potatoes. 



In case one must purchase seed potatoes at a high price, it might yield 

 as large net returns to plant small ones, if they are of good varieties, but 

 in this case the practice should not be kept up year after year. 



